You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. – John 15:16-17
A grumpy parishioner hugged the Rector after church one Sunday morning. “I'm so glad you preached an historical sermon,” she said. The Rector, shocked by this unusual praise beamed thanks. The parishioner continued, “Yes, because I am sick and tired of hearing about love all the time.”
If it seems that you’ve been hearing about love quite a bit during this Easter season, that’s because you have. You are not imagining it. Our readings, particularly those from the First Letter of John, contain some important and powerful material about God’s love for us and our love for one another.
Consider the Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter:
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Today, I invite you to consider how love, Love Divine, makes it possible for us to be a fruitful congregation through risk-taking service and mission.
In Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Robert Schnase writes,
Mission and Service refers to the projects, efforts, and work people do to make a positive difference in the lives of others for the purposes of Christ, whether or not they will ever become part of the community of faith. Risk-taking pushes us out of our comfort zone, stretching us beyond service to people we already know, exposing us to people, situations, and needs that we would never ordinarily encounter apart from our deliberate intention to serve Christ. Congregations who practice Risk-taking Mission and Service offer endless opportunities for people to make a difference in lives of others through service projects, [involvement] opportunities, and mission initiatives.
St. John’s has a long-standing commitment to service and mission. At points along the way, many of our endeavors have involved risks. Housing several non-profit groups, sending our missionaries to Cuba, opening Browse ‘N’ Buy, insisting on being an inclusive congregation for marginalized people, and even starting an Episcopal mission here in the first place took guts!
When people in this community hear that I am your Interim Rector, they have good things to say about the example St. John’s sets. The risk-taking mission and service in this parish are “good things God has prepared for those who love him.” When those who took these risks rolled up their sleeves and started in these ministries, they no doubt soon understood the rest of the collect; “Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire.”
Several years ago, I Baptized a child named Ava. When I was telling Ava about the meaning of Holy Baptism, I explained that the word sacrament means “sacred promise” and in our Church we understand that Baptism is something we do that is more than words to tell us about God’s promises to us. A little later in the conversation, I asked her if she understood why we don’t need to be Baptized more than once. She answered, “Because God never breaks promises.”
God never breaks promises. We must never hold back when presented with the opportunity for risk-taking service and mission, for if it flows from love for God and love for our neighbors, we have the promises of God to rely on. And, God never breaks promises.
I’ll see you in Church!